Just a few days after making headlines as the first hijab-wearing woman to be featured in a major hair campaign, Amena Khan has quit her appointment. The British Muslim model took the decision after a media outfit, the Daily Caller, published her tweets from 2014 concerning Israel’s war in Gaza, prompting social media users to rain backlashes on her as they described it as “anti-Israel.”
Khan took to Instagram to announce her withdrawal, apologizing for the ‘upset and hurt’ her tweets have caused, noting that “the current conversations surrounding it detract from the positive and inclusive sentiment that the campaign set out to deliver.” She also added that ‘championing diversity is one of her passions,’ one of which excited her to be part of the inclusive L’Oreal campaign.
Confirming her back out, a spokesperson for L’Oreal Paris affirmed that Amena Khan has truly retreated. “We have recently been made aware of a series of tweets posted in 2014 by Amena Kahn, who was featured in a UK advertising campaign,” the spokesperson told Newsbeat. “We appreciate that Amena has since apologized for the content of these tweets and the offense they have caused. L’Oreal Paris is committed to tolerance and respect towards all people. We agree with her decision to step down from the campaign.”
In the campaign, Khan had hoped to inspire other hijab-wearing women as she’d told Newsbeat prior to the controversy that it is “a platform for diverse voices and women who don’t fit the very narrow mould of beauty.”
